During his brief stay on Mexican soil, the President of the United
States, George W. Bush, made proposals as twisted as they were improbable in
regard to migration reform and the humane treatment of Mexicans working in the
United States. To his host Felipe Calderon he offered "to help as much as
possible when you request it," knowing full well that he has no help to
offer. How can a government in such decline and so cornered assist a [Mexican]
President that himself has been weak and in question from the beginning? Bush
visited the ruins in Uxmal, where his bodyguards climbed up into areas that are
closed off for reasons of preservation; he generated chaos of enormous
proportions amongst yucatecos [people in Yucatan]. Today he returns to
his country, leaving in his wake the widespread question: for what did he come?

As the most unpopular President in United States history and most
repudiated U.S. chief executive ever as far as Latin America is concerned, Bush
had little to do during visit to Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala and
Mexico. This is because these societies as well as their governments know that
because of the political crisis in Washington and the history of atrocities by
the present administration, White House power has almost been put between
parentheses.

In what remains of Bush's second term, there will be no great
definitions or redefinitions on the subject of foreign policy, much less toward
this continent: save for his eagerness to destabilize the Venezuelan government
and through his insistence on imposing the Free Trade Area of the Americas on
our nations, which is at this point a dead letter. The Texan hasn't shown any
interest in the region since September 11, 2001, the date that made the
"worldwide war on terrorism" practically the sum total of his
exercise of governmental authority. If Bush failed to exert himself to impel a
bilateral migration deal when he had complete command of the reins of power,
he's even less likely to do so now.

In fact, one is left with the impression that the most important
intent of Bush's Latin-American tour was to provide him with a few days to
relax away from his overwhelmed presidency. And although his trip had this
relaxed quality, he couldn't stop himself from behaving like the supreme leader
of a military superpower - and he conducted himself as such wherever he went. In
the countries that he visited, including ours, he left a patently obvious
double message: on the one hand, friendly words for the governments that
welcomed him, and on the other, open military operations that translated into
unequivocal violations of sovereignty of the nations that he visited, and the
unsettling of these populations. The smoothness of the discourse contrasted
sharply with news reports of the facts, which amounted in all cases to an
insolent ratification of imperial power.

The presence of the Chief Executive of the White House in the
Yucatan has meant a de facto suspension of constitutional rights and a
not-so-subtle surrender of national sovereignty. The presidency of Calderon
Hinojosa is left much diminished after permitting and committing violations of
the freedom of movement for the sake of the security of his guest and for
allowing the unjustified deployment of military and security forces and battle
ships of foreign origin on our nation's territory.

By conducting himself in this manner, President Calderon not only
admits to his lack of respect for the jurisdiction of the Mexican State over
its own territory, but implicitly communicates the incapacity of [Mexico's]
military institutions, national security institutions and police bodies to
guarantee the safety of this undesirable visitor. To make matters worse,
throughout this breach of the constitution and harassment of the population, an
enormous amount of public money has been expended.

Perhaps if the current government had consulted Mexico's most
senior diplomats in time, it would have discovered that there are professional,
discrete and impeccable ways to avoid such inopportune, unproductive and
offensive visits.

Spanish Version Below

¿Para qué?

In his brief stay on Mexican soil, the President of the United
States, George W. Bush, has made proposals so twisted and improbable on the
issue of immigration reform